Canada Immigration Questions (FAQ)

Find Answers to all your Canada Immigration Questions.

For ease of use, we have divided our Canada Immigration FAQ in two sections:General, which provides answers to Canada immigration questions relevant to all Canada immigration categories; and Specific, which provides answers to Canada immigration questions relevant to particular Canada immigration categories.

Which immigration programs will be covered under the Express Entry system?

Will Express Entry change the requirements of Canadian immigration programs?

What is an Express Entry profile?

What happens if the personal information declared by a potential candidate going into the pool turns out to be false?

What is the Express Entry pool?

Will there be a cap on the number of candidates admitted to the Express Entry pool?

What is the Comprehensive Ranking System?

What is the Canada Job Bank, and what role does it have under Express Entry?

Once a candidate is in the pool, can he or she change the information on his or her profile?

What does ‘invitation to apply’ mean?

Does a candidate with more points have a better chance of being invited to apply for permanent residence than a candidate with fewer points, even though both candidates are eligible to enter the Express Entry pool?

Is Express Entry a completely electronic process?

Is there a government fee to create an Express Entry profile?

Does a candidate with an application currently in process for immigration to Canada under one of the economic immigration programs need to re-apply once Express Entry comes into operation?

Is the federal government able to select candidates from the Express Entry pool?

Are there invitation rounds? (i.e. set times when draws from the Express Entry pool are made and invitations to apply issued)

Are there any eligible occupation lists for any of the programs under Express Entry?

How do provinces and territories use the Express Entry system?

Can candidates use both a Provincial Nominee Program and Express Entry?

What role do Canadian employers play under Express Entry?

Does a candidate need a job offer in order to immigrate to Canada under Express Entry?

How long does a candidate have to submit an application if he or she receives an invitation to apply for permanent residence?

What supporting documentation needs to be submitted once a candidate has been invited to apply for permanent residence?

Are candidates required to get an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA)?

Do candidates need to take language tests?

Will candidates know their points total and rank in the Express Entry pool?

How long does a candidate’s profile remain in the Express Entry pool for?

If a candidate is invited to apply for permanent residence by a Canadian province or territory, is that candidate obliged to move to that particular province or territory?

Are there limits to the number of immigrants Canada will take in for certain occupations?

Can a candidate apply directly to a province under a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)?

Once an applicant has submitted an application after being invited to apply for permanent residence, how long will the entire process take?

What happens if an applicant is not invited to apply for permanent residence, but wishes to remain in the Express Entry pool?

Is a successful candidate able to bring his or her family to Canada?

Are candidates in the Express Entry pool able to search for a valid job offer in Canada, and would such an offer increase their chance of being invited to apply for permanent residence?

Is Express Entry the only way for an international worker to live and work in Canada?

Can candidates wishing to live and work in Quebec enter the Express Entry system?

Will Bridging Open Work Permits continue under Express Entry?

Are candidates required to hire an immigration representative under Express Entry?

Once an employer selects a candidate from the Express Entry pool, who pays for the immigration process from that point?

If an employer selects a candidate, what happens in the event that the employer later wishes, for whatever reason, to terminate the employment of that person?

What is the Comprehensive Ranking System?

Does an employer have to make a permanent job offer to a potential candidate in order to select him or her from the Express Entry pool?

Does a candidate need a job offer in order to immigrate to Canada under Express Entry?

Is there a faster way to fill an open position?

Is Express Entry the only way for employers to hire internationally?

Can an employer conduct its own international recruitment outside the Express Entry pool?

Can an employer make a permanent job offer to a candidate who is not in the Express Entry pool?

If an employer wishes to hire a candidate through Express Entry, does the employer have to pay $1,000 for the processing of a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), as is the case for hiring a temporary foreign worker?

How can employers search for international candidates who are already in the pool? Are employers able to communicate with and interview candidates?

Are there limits to the number of immigrants Canada will take in for certain occupations?

Is a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) required in order to hire a foreign worker?

Will there by invitation rounds? (i.e. set times when draws from the Express Entry pool are made and initiations to apply issued)

Can a candidate immigrate to Canada having been selected by an employer, then leave his new job position shortly after arriving in Canada to work for another employer?

If so [to the above question], what safeguards can an employer put in place to avoid this?

What is the Employer Liason Network (ELN)?

Will businesses of all sizes and in all provinces and regions of Canada be selecting candidates from the same pool?